Hope for the Hopeless
by Queen Elenya Hawk
Summary: A collection of short stories written for Royai Week 2015
1. Dreams

**Dreams**

Riza poured two spoonfuls of sugar into her coffee and handed the bowl to Roy.

"I had a strange dream last night," she told him.

The Brigadier General's sugar dose doubled the Lieutenant's. "What was it about?"

She sipped from her cup before speaking. "There was so much going on…" She frowned slightly in concentration. "There was an invasion here in Central. We were being attacked by empty armors; they looked similar to the one Alphonse had."

Roy raised his eyebrows; or one of them, at least. The eyepatch prevented Riza from seeing the other. "What did they want?"

"I'm not sure. It happened so fast; we were fighting them…" She looked straight into his eye. "But you weren't there."

Roy stared at her and dared to ask, "Was I dead?"

"No," she said, and took another sip from her coffee. "You had been far away for a long time. I was in charge of the team."

"Was I on a mission?"

"No."

His eye was fixed on her as he drank his beverage, but he didn't make any more questions. He simply waited for her to continue.

"You showed up during the battle, like you knew it would happen. And I was…" She looked down, not succeeding at hiding her blush. "…so happy to see you."

He smirked. "So you missed me?"

Ignoring him, she looked at the clock on the wall. "We fought the attackers together for some time; then I lost sight of you for a second, and…" She turned to him and crossed her arms.

Roy gulped at her glare. It was clear that whatever had happened next in the dream had gotten her rather upset. "And what?" he asked.

She breathed in. "You took an air balloon, and flew away."

Roy snorted. "I did _what_?"

"I was running after you!" she said, her eyes lost in the images of what she had dreamt of so vividly. "Screaming at you to wait for me, to take me with you."

"And I didn't?"

"You never did." Her voice got softer, and Roy could see the hurt in her eyes. "I had been waiting for you for so long, and the moment you came back, you left me again."

"Hey," he said, and held her hand across the table.

The touch surprised her and she blinked. She looked first at her hand and held his as well; then lifted her head to look back at him.

"It was just a dream," he reassured her.

She sighed, and he could tell she was still tense. "I know, General."

"I have no intention of going away; I'm staying right here, where my team is."

She nodded. "Good."

He stood up and walked around the desk toward her. "And most importantly," he said. "You ran after me and I didn't care? That was definitely just a dream, because…" Standing in front of her, he took her hand again to help her stand up. He hugged her with one arm and caressed her chin with the other. "…I'd never leave you behind."

She smiled sweetly and put her hands on his shoulders. "I'm glad to hear that, General." She leaned in to kiss him. "General," she repeated.

"Yeah?"

"General?"

Roy opened his eyes. He realized he was still sitting at his desk, and there were no coffee cups on it.

"General, are you alright?"

He looked up from his chair and noticed the worried expression of his First Lieutenant.

He took a breath. "Yes, sorry. I fell asleep."

"You looked like you were dreaming."

"I was. A very strange dream, actually. Everything was so different." He touched his face. "I had lost one of my eyes."

Riza pursed her lips for a moment. "So Truth had taken your eye instead of your sight?"

He shook his head. "No, I had been shot."

She frowned. "Sounds like it was a very bad dream."

He smiled sheepishly. "Actually, not all of it was bad."

"Oh?"

He stood up and faced her. He smirked. "You were crazy about me."

Riza rolled her eyes and left a mountain of papers on his desk. "Keep dreaming, General."

Roy fell back into his chair and sighed in defeat, but not before he managed to catch sight of the short, tiny smile that graced Riza's lips.


	2. Skin

**Skin**

Riza stared adoringly at the man who took off her tights with special care. The mattress was soft under her weight, and the pillow so smooth.

It was rather fresh outside, but the room was warm; or _they_ were, at least. The night ahead would only be theirs.

Roy stretched one of her legs and held her heel over his shoulder. An arm was firmly around her knee while a hand ran slowly up and down her bare skin, feeling and enjoying every inch he touched.

Riza closed her eyes to savor the moment. She had never told him, but she had very sensible spots along the expanse of her legs, and she was in awe at how Roy always managed to find them. She was lucky that apparently legs had always been his favorite female attribute.

He kissed her calf and she opened her eyes. She saw the fascination with which he was looking at her and she knew she would have to be patient tonight; he'd want it to last.

"I've been waiting all evening for this," he said. "You've been tempting me during the entire dinner with that skirt, crossing and uncrossing your legs like it was no big deal." He stared at the discarded skirt on the floor for a moment, and frowned before staring at her again. He said with distaste, "Everyone was looking at you."

Riza smiled. No; it was a smirk. "I heard of this rumor again, that you plan on changing the uniforms. I thought you might like a preview of what would come with that."

Roy sighed and shook his head. "I won't do it; I know it would be inappropriate and even impractical for movement." He shrugged. "But a man can dream, right?"

She smiled. "Dreaming is fine."

He kissed her under her knee and she shuddered.

She touched her finger to her chin. "I wonder, though…"

Roy looked up.

When she looked at him, she asked, "What is it about legs that you like so much? How come you're not breast-crazy like most men?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you ask. Don't you know the answer to that?"

"Should I?"

Roy smiled and planted another kiss on her skin; her thigh this time, and she took a deep breath.

"Your legs are perfect," he said, more to her body than to her face. "I could never get tired of looking at them." His eyes fixed on hers and he said in almost a whisper, "And so you know, they're the only pair of legs I've ever been interested in."

Riza rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless. Roy dropped her leg slowly and crawled up the bed to be over her torso.

"And although I love your stomach…" he continued, kissing her beside her bellybutton. "…Your breasts..." he said before another kiss and a gentle caress above her bra. "…And even your shoulders…"

When the kiss to her shoulders came next, she hugged him and pushed him against her.

"…I know how hard it is for you to have to hide them all the time."

She looked at him immediately, having not anticipated that.

"I know why you don't like summer," he said soberly. "And a decent cleavage that fits your needs is hard to find."

Her eyes softened once more but she couldn't find her voice; not yet.

Roy moved and returned to Riza's legs, holding the other one this time.

"And so because your legs are the one part of your skin that is the most beautiful, and you can show them whenever you want to…"

A single finger graced her calf and she gasped.

"…I'm a leg man."

She was about to reply, but when he squeezed her thigh all she could say was, "Oh."


	3. Telephone

**Telephone**

"Hello, Elizabeth," she heard Roy saying close to her ear.

Riza tried not to laugh and simply smiled. She had to take this seriously. "Oh, hi, Roy. I'm so glad you called. I was wondering when I'd get to hear from you."

"I'm sorry, I've been terribly busy at work," was the reply. "But I've been meaning to talk to you all day."

"Oh? Is there anything you need to tell me?"

"Not really. I just wanted to hear your sweet voice."

Riza stifled a chuckle before Roy continued.

"Am I interrupting you?" he asked.

"Not at all. I was thinking whether I should take a shower or start making dinner."

"I see. Right now I'm so bored at home, and I'm starting to feel a little lonely. Would you mind if I joined you?"

"Uh—Well, I'm not cooking anything special."

She noticed the smirk in his tone when he said, "I wasn't talking about dinner."

At that, her expression changed drastically to a no-nonsense one.

"Seriously, Colonel?"

Roy pouted. "Oh, come on. It's harmless fun."

Riza took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Do we _need_ to flirt like this? It's ridiculous."

"Excuse me, Lieutenant?"

He wasn't offended, she knew he was enjoying the talk.

"This is going to be our way to communicate," he explained, "and you'll have to follow my lead. That's why we're practicing in the first place: so you learn to stay in character and reply accordingly."

She sighed with exasperation. "I know. I'm sorry."

"I'll go on," he told her.

She nodded. "Alright."

Roy cleared his throat.

"So, Elizabeth. How was your day? Did you have any difficult customers?"

"Just someone who broke a flowerpot and tried to get away." She grinned. "But I made him pay for it."

Roy raised an eyebrow. "Oh, so you taught him a lesson?"

"That's right," she said faking a proud tone.

"Oh, aren't you a little tough?"

"Well—"

"I mean," he interrupted, "Sometimes I'm a little lazy at work due to lack of motivation." He smirked. "Would you teach me a lesson too?"

Riza's heart skipped a beat, but quickly returned to normal. There it was again: Roy's play on words that always came with double entendre. But she wouldn't fail at it this time.

"Maybe I would," she said, "if I thought you deserved it."

Roy smiled widely at her confident answer, but relaxed soon after. He didn't want the conversation to escalate so fast.

"I don't want you to get the wrong impression of me, though," he said calmly. "A smart and beautiful woman like you deserves to be in the company of a gentle man. And I promise you…" He lowered the volume of his voice and murmured, "I can be very gentle."

A shiver of excitement ran up her spine. She wasn't ready to say it but she was starting to like this game.

"I'll be the judge of that."

Roy opened his mouth in surprise but recovered soon. "So you want to find out?"

"I just want to make sure you're not lying to me, _Roy_."

"Well, how about I visit you so you can see for yourself?"

She jerked her head to the side, unable to keep the smile from gracing her face. "I would like that very much."

Roy smiled sheepishly and stood up. "Alright, that's enough." He stretched an arm and removed the telephone tube that Riza was holding to her ear.

She opened her eyes and saw Roy putting the tube back in its place. The simulation of a phone call had actually come easier to her while pretending they weren't talking face to face, just like Roy had previously suggested.

A corner of her lips turned upwards. "What's the matter, Colonel? You couldn't keep up?"

"On the contrary," he said before taking his coat. "I was tempted to keep talking all night, but I'm getting hungry so I'll go before I starve."

Riza stood up. "Of course. Thanks for taking the time to practice it with me."

Riza opened the door and Roy stepped out into the hallway.

He smiled. "You're pretty good at this, Lieutenant, I must say. Think we could do this some time for fun?"

She crossed her arms and replied in a defying tone, "I'm sure I can think of better things to do for fun, Sir."

Roy was startled and looked at her with utter surprise. "Careful, Lieutenant. You don't want your character to fuse with your real personality."

She looked down for a moment in thought; then looked back up at him. "You're right, Colonel; that shouldn't happen."

He shook his head. "Don't worry, it's not that import—"

"Will you join me for dinner?" she interrupted. "It's clear I need to practice on that aspect, too. I'd appreciate it if you could give me a hand with it."

He grinned and entered back into the apartment. "Sure, I'm always willing to give you a hand, you know."

Riza locked the door and they returned to the kitchen walking past Black Hayate, who was sleeping quietly on the floor.

"Thank you. That's nice to hear."

"I should be thanking you. Every extra minute in your company is a pleasure for me."

Riza rolled her eyes and bit her lip, but Roy couldn't see her face because he was right behind her. "Well, if you stay even longer, I might ask you to give me a hand… or two, on something else."

He gulped. He was shocked but also very excited. "Is that Elizabeth or Lieutenant Hawkeye speaking?"

Riza turned around, looked into his eyes and smirked. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay long enough to find out."


	4. Understanding

**Understanding**

It was the last weekend in Central before Edward and Alphonse returned to Resembool. Besides, the newly promoted Brigadier General Mustang, now that he finally had his old team of subordinates back, would be heading for Ishval in a matter of days. Everyone had agreed on meeting at Roy's apartment tonight, for one last gathering before they went their separate ways.

Dinner went smoothly: jokes, sarcastic remarks, anecdotes, a few insults that caused no harm, praise for accomplishments and offers of help and support in the future if needed.

As she drank her coffee, Riza looked over the cup and watched the Elric brothers. Edward was enthusiastically eating a piece of cake, but Alphonse looked distracted; he rubbed one of his eyes and turned his head to the opposite side of his brother. He may have hidden it from Edward, but Riza noticed the yawn.

When Breda made a pause on his retelling of a story of his academy days, Riza used the moment to interrupt.

"Alphonse."

The blonde boy looked at her, along with everyone else at the table.

"You seem tired. Do you want me to drive you back to your dorm?"

Edward turned to his younger brother immediately and frowned. "Al, why didn't you tell me?" He put a hand on his shoulder. "Come on, let's head back."

Alphonse shook his head. "No, no. I'm fine, brother!" He grinned so widely that his eyes were closed when he spoke. "You're having a good time; I don't want you to miss it just because I'm a little tired."

Riza smiled sweetly. "I can take you, Al, and Edward can join you later."

Roy, who was sitting next to Riza and a little too close, touched her arm. "No need for you to leave, Lieutenant." He turned his attention to the boy. "Alphonse, take my bed. Whether you wake up in an hour or stay until morning, I won't mind. We'll probably stay up all night."

Alphonse stared at Edward. "What do you say, brother?"

Edward shrugged. "It's alright by me if you want to, Al. But if you want to leave, I'll go with you."

He shook his head again. "Uh-uh." Then, he said to Roy, "Well, if it's no bother…"

"Of course not," Roy answered amiably.

Riza stood up. "Come on, Al. I'll show you to his room."

With help from Edward, Alphonse stood up and used his cane to walk behind Riza. "Thanks, Lieutenant," he said.

The two of them left the dining room and, while Riza helped Al to bed, the men continued talking.

"And so Rebecca and I are going to be officially dating when we come back from Ishval," Havoc said proudly.

Ed brushed a side of his hair with his fingers and groaned with frustration. "Seriously, you said that like five times already. Don't you have anything new to share?"

Havoc gasped, and then lit a cigarette as he replied, "Well, excuse me for being happy. You're just jealous you don't have a girlfriend." He put the cigarette in his mouth.

Fuery lifted an eyebrow. "But he does have one." He turned to Ed and asked, "Aren't you and Miss Rockbell together?"

Edward startled and blushed furiously. "What?! No, no, no!" He stood up and shook his arms in the air, crossing and uncrossing them at high speed. "We're just friends! I don't like her like that!"

Roy chuckled. "You should tell that to your face, you know?"

Edward sat back down, clearly ashamed and agitated. "Of course I'm going to blush if you're going to suggest something like that about my childhood friend!" He sighed. "At least I'm better than someone who dates different women all the time with no shame."

Roy leaned over the table and smirked. "You wish you could date such beautiful women."

Ed rolled his eyes. "I don't care about that. But one day, you're going to actually love someone other than yourself and she will probably hate that attitude of yours."

Roy relaxed in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. Quietly, he said, "That's some curious word you used there, Fullmetal. Do you honestly think I don't love anyone?"

Edward blinked with confusion and lifted his chin. "What, you do?"

Falman coughed.

Very quietly, Fuery said, "Ed, don't."

Breda busied himself with another big piece of cake.

Havoc lit another cigarette.

Roy pursed his lips. "I'm surprised you ask, Edward. Everyone else here knows the answer to that, as you can see."

"Really?"

Edward looked at the men. They were all nodding except for Fuery, who was wiping tears from his face.

Roy took a deep breath before speaking. "There is, in fact, one woman I love, Edward. I love her more than my own life, too."

Edward listened with great interest, having not expected any reply of the sort.

"Tell you more," Roy continued.

"Boss!" Havoc interrupted.

Roy ignored him. "She's the only woman in this house right now."

Riza sat down next to Roy.

Edward watched the scene agape. Aware of all the eyes on her, Riza simply took back her cup of coffee and drank the beverage again.

She made a face of disgust and left the cup on the table. "It's cold."

Edward gulped. "Uh, Lieutenant…?"

She looked at him. "Yes?"

He sighed. "I'm sorry. I asked Mustang about it. I don't think he would have wanted you to hear—"

"Don't worry, Ed. I already knew."

"…You did?"

She smiled at Ed and nodded.

"Did… did he tell you?" he dared to ask.

Riza looked at Roy, her expression getting even softer, warmer. "It isn't hard to see."

Edward stared dumbfounded at the pair. The silence lasted for a whole minute. Roy was lost in Riza's eyes; his expression serene and full of tenderness. It was obvious that he was totally in love with the woman at his side. Ed mentally kicked himself for not having noticed it earlier.

The awkwardness grew as the seconds passed, and Ed felt like just standing up, waking up his brother and getting out of there.

"Do you want to know, Ed?"

The older Elric looked at the person who talked to him. Riza was patiently waiting for a reply.

"Know what?"

"If I love the General."

He started to sweat and talked nervously. "No, no, it's none of my business, really. I mean, unless you want to tell me, but I'm not asking; not at all."

"I do," Riza said. "I do love him."

Havoc had a lit cigarette in each hand. Fuery was weeping, failing miserably at trying to dry his cheeks with a handkerchief. Falman was reading a magazine he found nearby, and Breda served himself the last piece of cake.

Edward was speechless. He didn't understand. How had he missed this for so long?

"But…" he said. "You're not dating, are you?"

"Of course not," Roy replied. "It is one thing to have this feeling for each other, but it's against the military rules to act on it."

Ed looked down. "So you can't be together, even if you want to," he concluded.

"Right," Riza said.

He frowned sadly. "I'm sorry."

She showed him a wry smile. "It's alright, Ed. This is the life we chose."

Edward was about to say something else, but Riza continued.

"But please," she said, "do not talk about this to anyone. Our careers are at stake. This is very important, Edward." Her tone got even more serious. "We're trusting you with this information."

Ed nodded, knowing better than thinking of ruining Roy's and Riza's lives with a simple slip of his tongue. "I promise I won't tell." He frowned. "But what about Al?"

Riza smiled. "You can tell your brother, Ed. But no one else, please."

"You have my word, Lieutenant."

Soon enough, the topic of conversation changed, and everyone else became talkative again. When it was time to leave, Edward went to the bedroom and woke up his brother. Falman and Fuery had left minutes ago, and Havoc would take Breda and the Elric brothers to their dorms. Riza said she would stay a little longer, just to help Roy tidy up the place.

By the time they were back and got ready for sleep, Edward had told Alphonse everything he missed at the table. The younger brother was happy to hear about Roy and Riza, and he couldn't keep his grin off of his face as he changed clothes.

"Hey, Al," Edward said. He was helping Al to lie down on his bed. "I know it's great that Mustang and Hawkeye know that they love each other and all that, but there isn't much to be happy about. They can't be together after all."

Al smiled. "I'm sorry, brother. You're right. It's just that…" He turned off the lamp on his bedside table. "Something weird happened when I went to sleep to the General's room. I told the Lieutenant that the mattress was amazing; hard enough to help me keep a good posture, but still soft enough to be very comfortable."

Ed got into his bed and lifted an eyebrow. "What's so weird about that?"

Alphonse closed his eyes. "That the Lieutenant smiled at me and said, _believe me Alphonse, I know_."


End file.
